PG&E Dodges 90 Years in Jail for Fire Because It’s Not a Person
- Utility ordered to pay $4 million for fire that killed 84
- Sentencing follows surviving victims’ accounts of deaths
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PG&E Corp. dodged a 90-year state prison sentence for a 2018 fire that killed 84 people because it’s not a person. Instead the corporation was ordered to pay the maximum penalty under California law of $4 million.
State Judge Michael Deems said he recognized the constraints prosecutors faced under the law, but the sentence didn’t fit the enormity of the crime.